DEERWOOD — Emmet Anderson continues his dominance.
The Staples-Motley senior ran in 16:19.3 to win the Mid-State Conference title Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge.
Anderson ran a full 1:20 faster than second-place finisher Jesse Clausen of Pequot Lakes.
“The weather was nice,” Anderson said. “Last meet we came down here it was super rainy and pretty much every turn was just mud and that was pretty rough to run in. I was happy to get out here on a nice day with some firm ground. I think that was one of the big benefits I had today.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the race featured two pods with Staples-Motley, Detroit Lakes and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle racing in the early afternoon, and Park Rapids, Pequot Lakes and Crosby-Ironton racing in the late afternoon.
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Pequot Lakes freshman Calia Chaney entered the late afternoon race needing to beat the time of 19:09.5 set by Caroline Kuehne of LPGE.
Chaney crossed the finish line in 18:58.3 giving her first place and keeping her undefeated season alive.
“It felt good,” she said. “This is probably one of the most tired … and I was a little stressed before the race because we were rushed and it was a tough course. When I crossed that finish line I was very happy I broke 19 because I knew I was going to be close.”
S-M sophomore Aften Robinson was the Cardinals top runner in 19:45.9 which was a third-place finish. Teammate Kyanna Burton was right behind her in 20:32.2.
“Our girls really tried to keep the gaps from getting too wide,” S-M head coach Bruce Fuhrman said. “I thought Aften ran a top-notch race and was really prepared.”
Fuhrman mentioned his girls team was a little under the weather after a meet earlier this season.
“Aften knew we might be running a little bit weaker in some areas because we have been sick,” Fuhrman said. “We are under the weather a little bit. We ran a race where it was very windy and the course really aggravated allergies and it rained and sleeted, so we were out in the elements a little longer. So we knew when we got on the bus that our voices were a little hoarse and we knew we’d have some issues. So we are still getting out of that and we should be out of it by week’s end.”
The Cardinals still walked away with both boys and girls team titles.
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Behind Anderson, Lyle Brownell finished third in 17:40.5, Isaiah Tabbat fourth in 17:49.8 and Luke Brownell fifth in 17:55.2.
“The boys all year have been a tight-knit group in running in a pack,” Fuhrman said. “Emmet sets the tone and then we have different people who step to the front of the pack and pull the pack forward. Today it was Lyle. We’ve had Luke, (Lyle’s) brother, and we’ve also had Issiah do it and Tanner Robben — it doesn’t matter who’s doing it. It’s just fun to watch.”
Pequot Lakes tallied a second-place finish in girls and a third-place finish in boys.
Clausen was the story for the Patriot boys with his second-place finish in 17:39.7 fresh off a quarantine.
“We haven’t seen Jesse in quite a few days because he was quarantined,” Pequot head coach Jeff Brever said. “It’s good to have him back and just see him race again. We had five of our top seven guys out today, so it was nice to have him back and some of the other runners step up.”
Collin Yahn also finished in the top 10 for the Patriots in 18:35.6
The Patriots girls tallied three girls in the top 10 including the winner Calia Chaney. Rian Zutter placed sixth in 20:57.2 and Calia’s older sister Carly Chaney placed seventh in 21:06.6.
“I just liked the way they came out and competed,” Brever said. “Calia has been running well all year. It’s tough not being able to race against the other team so you just have to mentally picture that in front of you. The rest of the girls had to work their way through and we are just trying to get ready for sections.”
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The host team Crosby-Ironton Rangers placed fourth in the girls and sixth in the boys.
Anna Westin was the lone top 10 finisher for the Rangers in 22:28.1. Emily Miller was right behind her in 11th in 22:42.2
Joseph Ringhand was C-I’s top boys finisher in 21:32.7.
The next meet for all teams is sections. Sections will be the last race of the season with no state tournament being held.
“Most of it is just trying to keep putting in the miles and try not to breakdown in the training,” Anderson said. “I think consistency is one of the biggest things in long-distance running. It’s just keeping the mental game strong.”
Staples-Motley boys and girls teams went to state last year as well as Pequot Lakes girls. They won’t get a chance to race in state this year.
“It’s kind of sad with our low-risk sport of cross-country,” Brever said of having no state tournament. “But we are just like every other team we just got to compete for the (section) championship now and that’s our main focus.”
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Boys results
Team scores: 1-Staples-Motley 24, 2-Park Rapids 54, 3-Pequot Lakes 73, 4-Detroit Lakes 92, 5-Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 129, 6-Crosby-Ironton 177
Individual winner: Emmet Anderson (SM) 16:19.3
Crosby-Ironton results: 31-Joseph Ringhand 21:32.7, 32-AJ Westin 21:46.3, 36-Max Erickson 22:23.5, 38-Aiden Reisz 22:54.4, 40-Michael Anderson 23:46.5
Pequot Lakes results: 2-Jesse Clausen 17:39.7, 10-Collin Yahn 18:35.6, 17-Charlie Schiessl 19:08.6, 21-Alex Morgan 19:51.8, 23-Steve Maschhoff 20:04.8, 24-Shane Crowley 20:07.3, 39-Caleb Toftness 23:24.4
Staples-Motley results: 1-Anderson 16:19.3, 3-Lyle Brownell 17:40.5, 4-Issiah Tabatt 17:49.8, 5-Luke Brownell 17:55.2, 11-Tanner Robben 18:36.4, 13-Logan Robben 18:44.2, 14-Grant Johnson 18:53.1
Girls results
Team scores: 1-Staples-Motley 29, 2-Pequot Lakes 47, 3-Detroit Lakes 79, 4-Crosby-Ironton 85, 5-Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 109
Individual winner: Calia Chaney (PL) 18:58.3
Crosby-Ironton results: 10-Anna Westin 22:28.1, 11-Emily Miller 22:42.2, 15-Ruby Westin 23:16.5, 19-Gabby Rosecrans 23:38.2, 30-Adelaid Lonergan 25:21.7, 32-Hannah Pederson 26:12.3, 33-Annaliese Vignieri 26:27.3
Pequot Lakes results: 1-Calia Chaney 18:58.3, 6-Rian Zutter 20:57.2, 7-Carly Chaney 21:06.6, 16-Emma Flaws 23:26.3, 17-Elisa Flaws 23:32.2, 21-Isabel Larson 24:17.0, 29-Emma Bitzer 25:18.5
Staples-Motley results: 3-Aften Robinson 19:45.9, 4-Kyanna Burton 20:32.2, 5-Audrey Brownell 20:54.9, 8-Ashley Robben 21:29.3, 9-Naila Mikhaeil 21:50.8, 20-Addisyn Cichos 24:05.0, 28-Arabella Moore 25:07.2
Mid-State Conference
Boys winner: Emmet Anderson (SM) 16:19.3
Girls winner: Calia Chaney (PL) 18:58.3
Team winners: Staples-Motley girls and boys
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Next: Pequot Lakes girls at sections 7-1A at Cloquet 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 12
Pequot Lakes boys at sections 7-1A at Cloquet 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13
Crosby-Ironton girls sections 7-1A at Cloquet 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12
Crosby-Ironton boys sections 7-1A at Cloquet 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13
Staples-Motley boys at sections 6-1A at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13
Staples-Motley girls at sections 6-1A at New London-Spicer 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15.
